Energy Secretary Warns California Agriculture and Cities in Jeopardy from Climate Change
04 February 2009
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said that water shortages resulting from worst case scenarios of climate change could eliminate agriculture in California and place its cities in jeopardy.
In a worst case, Chu said, up to 90% of the Sierra snowpack could disappear, all but eliminating a natural storage system for water vital to agriculture. “I don’t think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen,” he said. “We’re looking at a scenario where there’s no more agriculture in California.” And, he added, “I don’t actually see how they can keep their cities going” either.
In the course of a half-hour interview, Chu made clear that he sees public education as a key part of the administration’s strategy to fight global warming—along with billions of dollars for alternative energy research and infrastructure, a national standard for electricity from renewable sources and cap-and-trade legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
It's never better not to know!
This is not about panic. This is about the reality of a combination of factors which are going to bite harder and sooner somewhere followed by the next in sequence.
This aspect of habitation has been a fact of life through history.
We know this is how things go so lets not talk about green conspiracy. A major difference this time around is that large populations are established in most habitable places globally, we can no longer get on boats and go to a 'new world' and many of the habited areas have diminished biodiversity so are less robust than in the (recent) past.
Many productive agricultural ares have collapsed with water resources diminishing and rain and snowfall patterns changing many of these areas have very large numbers of people reliant on agriculture.
California has a high percentage of talented foresightful people and will remain a desirable address.
It would be a shame to see a New Orleans style of exodus.
Posted by: arnold | 04 February 2009 at 05:18 PM
I have invented a new way to move water. It can be used to fight wildfires and to move water to regions suffering from drought.
www.electric-fluid-pipeline.com
Please help me get my ideas evaluated.
Posted by: shopa | 04 February 2009 at 05:43 PM
Sierra snowpack is gone every year, at about mid-June. The answer for earlier snow melting is more reservoirs, which is fiercely opposed by fringe environmentalists.
Current drought conditions in South California (Northern California is OK) is due to cool phase of PDO (translated mostly into more frequent cool La Nina events). It is about 30 years cycle.
Funny thing, current SoCal drought is because of Earth cooling, not warming.
Posted by: Andrey Levin | 04 February 2009 at 09:17 PM
Want an inexhaustible water supply for California? The largest ocean on the planet borders the state. Cal already has a very power intensive water infrastructure so a new power hungry desalination infrastructure may just have to be added to the long list of new projects Arnold has planned for the state.
Hard to imagine such defeatist statements coming for the "Secretary of Energy".
Posted by: Paul | 04 February 2009 at 10:37 PM
Gee, isn't it convenient to quote the stupid models that aren't worth much as the indicators of future catastrophe and ignore them when they don't produce your pet answers. But to predict desertification is not quite kosher when your models predict increasingly lush conditions.
But then the doofuses at the LA Times would never do any research to discover that. Why it takes only a google or two to get that data.
The consensus of 22 GHC models, predict that California will have anywhere from 130% to 140% MORE Precipitation than it recieves todaY in 2100.
Now Only AGW warmists actually beleive any of the tommyrot from those computer models, that can't agree with past history, postdiction; or predict the future, prediction; but they are the last straws to grasp since Reality and modern post 2000 Science, increasingly discredits all that AGW nonsense.
In this case, even their dumb GIGO models predict a wetter California if their catastrophes were to occur. Shh! Don't tell anyone. And to think that CHu is the supposedly sanest one of the Obama three Stooges of Browner, Holdren and Chu.
GIGO.
Posted by: ExDemo | 05 February 2009 at 07:26 AM
The consensus of 22 GHC models, predict that California will have anywhere from 130% to 140% MORE Precipitation than it recieves todaY in 2100.
Do you have a reliable source of information for that statement showing that mid summer drought will not be occurring? Rains during the winter mean nothing in an agricultural region.
stupid models ...dumb GIGO models...tommyrot...three Stooges
This post gives me great hope for those who choose to continue on to college; all they need for motivation is to read this.
Posted by: Will S | 06 February 2009 at 06:54 PM
Actually Cali Central Valley boasts three full growing seasons and winter rains count significantly.
There have been suggestions that the enormous wave energy off Cali's coast could be used to power reverse osmosis desal without consuming much electric. Seems time to port big ag water demand to desal. Technology is here as is demand.
Posted by: Reel$$ | 07 February 2009 at 10:51 AM
California is basically an arid state. It uses close to 20% of its energy to just move water around the state. In the south, the Colorado river is extremly low after an 8 year drought, which is forcast to be worse in the future. The Delta pumping plant supplies water to half the state. The people in the area are wary of increasing supplies to central and southern california. Orange county in starting to go toilet to tap. Sewage water getting recycled to go back to the taps.
All these projects and things are happening because everything's fine? Yah, right. Keep denying. Unfortunately, it doesn't actually solve real problems.
Posted by: aym | 25 February 2009 at 02:46 PM